03/07/2024

James Wade's World Matchplay hopes boosted as Kevin Doets and Dirk van Duijvenbode lose first match at Players Championship 14

Kevin Doets and Dirk van Duijvenbode can draw a line under participation in the World Matchplay. Both Dutchmen lost their opening match at Players Championship 14 Wednesday afternoon.

Doets dropped out of the virtual field of participants for the World Matchplay on Tuesday after rival James Wade made it to the quarterfinals. So Doets had to make it to at least the third round on Wednesday, but the Dutchman went down 6-2 in his first match against Steve Beaton.

Draw revealed for Players Championship 14; Find out who the likes of Luke Humphries, Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price will face right here!

Van Duijvenbode needed to reach at least the final on Wednesday, but the first round already proved too high an obstacle. The Dutch dart player lost 6-3 to Dom Taylor. For Wade on the other hand, things took a good step towards qualification for the World Matchplay by starting his tournament with a resounding 6-1 victory over Lukas Wenig.

Mike de Decker and Callan Rydz will need to reach at least the final to catch up with Wade. Decker started Players Championship 14 with a 6-2 win over Owen Bates, while Rydz took a 6-3 win against Jurjen van der Velde.

Elsewhere in the early results on the Pro Tour, Peter Wright saved his skin against Jamie Atkins, turning a 4-5 deficit into a 6-5 victory. Michael Smith, Jonny Clayton, Brendan Dolan and Ritchie Edhouse will also be back in the second round. Raymond van Barneveld also joined the last 64 of this floor tournament. The five-time world champion edged Brett Claydon 6-3. Jeffrey de Zwaan recorded a fine 6-4 victory over Andrew Gilding. Owen Roelofs eliminated Joe Cullen 6-4.

Two Dutchmen chase James Wade at final tournament in qualifying race for World Matchplay

How to watch

On Tuesday, July 2nd and Wednesday, July 3rd, the next two Players Championship tournaments of the 2024 Pro Tour will be played at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. Players Championship 13 and 14 will be broadcast by the PDC via live stream.

All matches of the four stream boards will be broadcast live via PDCTV. To do so, you need to create an account and purchase a subscription. There is a monthly subscription (£9.99) and annual subscription (£59.99) available. It is also possible to take out a two-day subscription for £3.99.